Software Engineer – AI-Enabled Vulnerability Research

• Columbia, MD

An active TS//SCI clearance with polygraph is required for this role

Bitwise is a leading provider of mission-focused intelligence solutions that advance national security for the Intelligence Community and Department of Defense. We're a small and growing company, so you can expect to hop in on the ground floor with us and be a consequential member of the team. You'll be more than a contract performer for us — you'll also be asked for ideas to improve our company and improve your career, and you'll contribute to our team culture.

We value growth and community above almost all else, so we gather regularly for game nights, happy hours, tech talks, and plenty more. We think you'll like it here!

Remember, Bitwise is not a cult.

Bitwise hires talented engineers who are driven by purpose and who value a culture of technical excellence, growth, and overall wellness. We deliver new and innovative intelligence solutions to our customers at the very forefront of our country's national security missions. And we do it every single day. Our work matters, and so will you.

We ask that every new hire be able to:

• Contribute meaningful thought leadership — if not right away, over time
• Interact with our customers and earn their confidence in your abilities
• Be detailed, even if that means taking a little more time to get it right
• Contribute their ideas and ideals to improve all aspects of our company
• Allow us to invest in their education so we both grow together

You will design, develop, and integrate AI-enabled capabilities that support computer network exploitation and vulnerability research. This role combines strong software engineering fundamentals with practical knowledge of vulnerability research, program analysis, and AI-assisted research workflows. You'll independently own complex features and subsystems, translate mission needs into technical designs, and deliver reliable software from prototype through deployment.

You will develop agentic AI harnesses that connect large language models, research tools, instrumented execution environments, and backend services to support repeatable, evidence-driven analysis. Working alongside vulnerability researchers, AI/ML engineers, and mission stakeholders, you'll make sound architectural decisions, evaluate AI-generated findings, and improve the quality and effectiveness of research workflows. This position also includes mentoring engineers and contributing to technical direction and engineering standards.

Your Responsibilities:

• Design, develop, and maintain AI-enabled software and research tooling supporting computer network exploitation and vulnerability research workflows
• Own the design and delivery of complex features and subsystems, including requirements refinement, implementation, testing, deployment, and sustainment
• Develop and integrate agentic AI harnesses that orchestrate research tools, manage execution state, collect evidence, and evaluate results
• Build and extend sandbox-based dynamic analysis capabilities for executing and observing software, capturing runtime behavior, and reproducing suspected vulnerabilities
• Integrate debugging, instrumentation, fuzzing, crash analysis, and related research tools into automated or researcher-directed workflows
• Establish repeatable evaluations that measure finding validity, reproducibility, false-positive rates, and the usefulness of AI-assisted analysis
• Develop backend services, APIs, data pipelines, and user interfaces that make research capabilities accessible and results traceable
• Troubleshoot complex issues across application code, AI integrations, research tooling, and execution…